Shimla, Sep 11 - Free power to the farmers in Punjab is an investment, not a subsidy, Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal said here Friday.

'Free power to the farmers is an investment to agriculture, not a subsidy... The party stood by its commitments to the people during the elections,' Harcharan Bains, media adviser to the Punjab chief minister, told reporters after the day-long 'Vichar Baithak' (brainstorming session) of the party that began Friday at the Peterhoff Hotel here.

Asked about Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal's statement on the eve of the brainstorming session that he would demand withdrawal of subsidies doled out by the government, Bains said: 'Nobody talked about the subsidies during the session... It did not figure during the session at all.'

'During the session, it was decided to concentrate more on governance, strengthening party's base at grassroots level, involving more youth in party affairs,' he said.